The Dallas Cowboys lost their season opener to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night. Although America’s Team came up just short, they played way better than people expected. Coming into this matchup, the Cowboys were nine-point underdogs, a line that appeared to be large.
Needless to say, Dallas fought hard all game long against the defending Super Bowl champions and even took the lead late into the fourth quarter. Even though they gave quarterback Tom Brady too much time to get in field goal range (1:24), the team was on full display for all of America to see. They would wind up covering the spread, with the Cowboys never trailing by more than nine points throughout the game.
This matchup between the Cowboys and Buccaneers was likely the perfect way to start the 2021 season. It was a back and forth affair between quarterbacks Tom Brady and Dak Prescott. As a result, this game brought in an uptick in viewers compared to last year’s opening game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans.
Although the Buccaneers got the last laugh, winning by a score of 31-29, there is probably a lot of positive takeaways from this loss. For starters, competing with one of the best offenses and defenses in the league likely shows how different this team is from a season ago. Here are three takeaways from the Dallas Cowboys season opener loss.
Dallas Cowboys: 3. Dak Prescott is back
Quarterback Dak Prescott is back. After suffering a gruesome ankle injury in October of 2020, Prescott played in his first game since Week 5. Yes, the former rookie of the year is back under center for America’s Team, but he’s back in the sense that he picked up right where he left off.
Before the injury, Prescott threw for 1,856 yards (371.2 yards per game) and nine touchdowns through just five games. However, there was reason to be skeptical if the former Mississippi State star can repeat his success.
On top of recovering from the ankle injury this offseason, he was also dealing with a shoulder strain that limited him all training camp. The 6-foot-2 quarterback was on a throw count for the majority of the offseason. As a result, many people including ESPN analyst Adam Schefter thought that Prescott wouldn’t be fully healthy.
Nonetheless, the former Mississippi State product didn’t show any signs of rust in his first game in 333 days. Prescott completed 42 of 58 passes for 403 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The 28-year-old quarterback has now passed for 400+ yards in five of his last six games.
In this game, it was evident that the former Pro Bowl quarterback put the team on his back. With no run game due to Tampa’s scary front seven, the Dallas Cowboys relied heavily on the passing game. From Dallas’ first snap where Prescott found wide receiver Amari Cooper for a 28 yard gain to him leading the team down the field late in the fourth quarter, the former fourth-round pick looked like his old self.
Dallas Cowboys: 2. The defense is much improved from last year
The Dallas Cowboys defense is likely much better than it was in 2020. Although it is a small sample size, this defense did what it could against this elite Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense.
Last season, the Cowboys were ranked as one of the worst defenses in the league. They finished in the bottom half of the league in almost every category including rush yards allowed per game (158.8), points allowed per game (29.6), and opponent’s yards per completion (11.1). However, now it seems like this team is probably not going to put up these kinds of numbers in 2021.
In this game, the Dallas Cowboys were able to force four turnovers, something that didn’t happen quite often last season. In 2020, the Cowboys didn’t force a turnover in five games but also forced 3+ turnovers four times including three of their last four games.
It appeared that this defense had more energy on the field than it did last year. With the new additions of safety Jayron Kearse (11 tackles), linebacker Micah Parsons (seven tackles), linebacker Keanu Neal (six tackles), and safety Damontae Kazee (two tackles & a forced fumble), this proved to be key pieces of this revamped defense.
Defensive end Demarcus Lawrence also probably had the best game of any Cowboys player. He finished the game with five tackles and one forced fumbled. His PFF grade of 91.4 is one of the best in Week 1.
Additionally, second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs had himself a great start to his 2021 campaign. He had his hands full covering one of the game’s best wide receivers in Mike Evans. However, the former Alabama star allowed only one catch for ten yards on three targets to three-time Pro Bowler. He also winded up with a tipped ball interception and a key late-game deflection.
There’s plenty to like from this Cowboys’ defense in their season opener. It wasn’t an ideal matchup for this team, but they made the most of it and will probably only get better throughout the season.
Dallas Cowboys: 1. The receiving group is elite
Coming into this game, most people knew just how good the Cowboys’ receivers were. However, very few people likely didn’t expect both wide receiver Amari Cooper and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to have such big games against this elite defense. Both Cooper and Lamb finished the game with double-digit targets and 100 yards.
Although many expected Lamb to take over as the Cowboys’ top receiver immediately in his second year, Cooper kept getting overlooked in this offense. However, the 4x Pro Bowler appears to still be Prescott’s favorite target in Dallas.
After an offseason surgery for the former Alabama wide receiver, Cooper was limited for the majority of training camp like Prescott. Nonetheless, his ankle didn’t seem to bother him in Week 1 as he finished with 13 catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side, CeeDee Lamb was getting all the offseason hype with Cooper sidelined. The buzz around the NFL was that he was going to break out in 2021.
Even though this is probably going to be true, the former Oklahoma star will likely still be the second option on this offense. Nevertheless, there’s no reason why both of these wide receivers can’t have great games. Lamb finished with seven catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Again, it’s a small sample size to say that Cooper will remain the top option in this offense, but he does appear to be Prescott’s favorite target. Either way, covering both receivers is probably going to be a handful for any defense, just look at the Buccaneers on Thursday night. Throw in wide receiver Michael Gallup as well, when he returns from injury, and this will possibly be one of the best trios in the league.